Chores and Rewards

With all the changes in our lives it is no wonder my kids have had a few, in the grand scheme of things, minor behavioral issues. Each kid has their challenge. For Faith it is getting out of bed in the morning. I've had to stand over her with a cup of cold water to get her OUT of it (desperate times call for desperate measures...I didn't pour it on her-I threatened). Alorah just tends to loose focus and get a little too wild. Vance is 4, which means he hates to not get his way, he doesn't like to comply. He also can't seem to break the habit of sleeping in my bed-and Mr. Snor-a-LOT has got to go. I can't take it anymore. I need my sleep! He is just so full of spunk, it's hard to keep his head and feet on the ground. So, I decided to come up with a chore chart and a reward program to go with it. They have to earn stickers by doing their daily expectations- make their beds, brush teeth, homework, getting out of bed, cleaning up their messes, and good behavior. They have to earn all their checks (for each expectation) and if they get all their checks they get a sticker. Vance has to earn 20 stickers, and then he gets a Hot Wheels set he desperately wants. Faith and Alorah have to earn 30 stickers and they will get $30 to spend on any toy they want. Working full time, having the kids 6 days a week, and having to everything from sun up to sun down by myself means the smoother things run the better *I* do. It's hard to be a single mom. I used to think it was hard when Levi worked a lot and wasn't home much but no. This is a million times harder. I should do a 'day in the life' picture blog one day to show what I cram into 16 hours. It is insane. Truly. So, my goal is to create expectations and reward the follow through. The more structure and predictabilty they have the better. It gives them control and ownership in their lives, and that is incredibly important. Especially now.